As reported in a Weekly Book Newsletter special bulletin last night, Truth by Peter Temple (Text) is the winner of the 2010 Miles Franklin Literary Award.
Temple's book is the first crime title to have won the award, having also been the first crime novel to be shortlisted. Text publisher Michael Heyward, who told the Weekly Book Newsletter he was ‘over the moon', said Temple's novel ‘changed the possibilities of the crime novel'. ‘Truth is a crime novel but also a novel about crime. It's a contemporary tragedy,' he said.
Text is rushing through a reprint of the award-winning novel, with a paperback available next Monday 28 June. Limited stock of the collectors' hardback edition is currently available, as is a B-format edition of companion title The Broken Shore. A B-format of Truth is due at the end of August. The book is also currently available as an audiobook from Bolinda.
Text, which recently launched its ebook list, available on REDgroup's Kobo platform, has also confirmed the title will be available as an ebook from tomorrow.
Shaun Symonds of Nielsen BookScan Australia told the Weekly Book Newsletter the Miles Franklin win would certainly help sales of Truth--as it has for each winning title since Nielsen BookScan began recording comprehensive sales data in Australia in 2003.
However, while a Miles Franklin win ‘always has a positive effect on sales', just how much of an effect depends on how popular the title was to begin with, said Symonds. ‘It's another piece in the publicity puzzle,' he said, adding that Temple's book was, thus far, the second most commercially successful winner of the award in terms of sales, following last year's winner Breath (Tim Winton, Penguin).
What the judges said
Morag Fraser, spokesperson for the judging panel, said the novel was ‘writing tempered by fire'.
‘The novel fuses the exhilaration and tension of a complex crime narrative with lives broken, patched and tested against the background of Victoria's apocalyptic bushfires. In Inspector Stephen Villani, Temple has created an indelible Australian character.'
Fraser also admitted ‘it was a controversial and challenging shortlist, accomplished and diverse in ways that made the judges' task extremely difficult'. ‘Each novel offered a quite distinct and compelling fictional journey,' she said.
Temple thanks booksellers
Temple told the Weekly Book Newsletter he wished to thank booksellers for supporting their title. In a self-deprecating acceptance speech that amused the audience, he speculated that the first Miles Franklin winner Patrick White would ‘think it unthinkable' that Truth had won. The South Africa-born author also said he hoped that the award would ‘put an end to the matter of my "Australian-ness"'.
Following last year's award ceremony, which was not attended by any of the shortlisted authors (though winner Tim Winton did appear by video-link), the organisers of the award kept the winner secret this year, with only the judges knowing the outcome before it was announced at last night's gala dinner ceremony. Five of the six shortlisted authors--Temple, Sonya Hartnett, Alex Miller, Deborah Forster and Brian Castro--were present at the award ceremony, while shortlisted author Craig Silvey was overseas.
Miles Franklin award ceremony to go 'on the road'
Next year's Miles Franklin award ceremony will take place in Melbourne, with plans to hold the event in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide in subsequent years--though not necessarily in that order. ‘Miles Franklin wanted the award to promote Australian literature everywhere, so we're taking it on the road,' said John Atkin, chief executive of the Trust Co, which administers the award.
Atkin told the Sydney Morning Herald that the award ceremony would return to Sydney at some point, but not to its traditional site, the Mitchell Library. ‘But ... Franklin herself stipulated that the Mitchell's librarian always be one of the judges and we will honour that,' he added.
You can read an interview with Temple, as well as the original Bookseller+Publisher review of Truth and other Miles Franklin shortlisted titles on our Fancy Goods blog here.
